Recent changes in flood risk in the Gran La Plata,Buenos Aires province,Argentina: causes and management strategy

The paper analyses the causes of flood occurrence in the Gran La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and the changes that have occurred since the 1970s. The area is characterized by serious deficiencies in the use and management of water resources. The main factors are: (1) flood risk information is not updated; (2) urban building organization does not consider the flood risk; (3) the topography and other physical features are not taken into account in urban development. This research considers some specific problems, especially in data availability, and suggests ways to solve them, including improved analytical methodology. One of the main objectives is to analyse flood risk in social terms, producing a map of flood risk from the “human social vulnerability” point of view. The results suggest that flood risk has increased since the 1980s and that this is associated with changes in precipitation patterns that have also been aggravated by lack of controls on urban development. The poorer areas with the lowest level of infrastructure and public services, many of them developed over the last quarter-century, are especially vulnerable.     

Isoductile strengths and strength reduction factors of elasto‐plastic SDOF systems subjected to simple waveforms

The inelastic response of elasto‐plastic SDOF oscillators subjected to 24 simple waveforms was studied. The waveforms contain linear, quadratic, sinusoidal, and triangular acceleration components that repeat for not more than several cycles. Similarities and differences in oscillator response characteristics are presented, organized by a characteristic period. The strengths and corresponding strength reduction factors required for constant ductility responses are discussed. Response data are compared with expectations based on the concepts of equal energy, equal displacement, and preservation of force. Limitations on the applicability of the equal energy concept are identified. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups – I. Single stars

This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties of late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate our study on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association (Pleiades moving group,     , IC 2391 supercluster (35 Myr), Ursa Major group (Sirius supercluster, 300 Myr), and Hyades supercluster (600 Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castor moving group (200 Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list of single late-type possible members of some of these young stellar kinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established members of stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematic properties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such as their level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithium abundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes taken from the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, and published radial velocity measurements are used to calculate the Galactic space motions ( U , V , W ) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteria in order to determine the membership of the selected stars to the different groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods for late-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. A further study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a better understanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, as well as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. In addition, these stars are also potential search targets for direct imaging detection of substellar companions.     

Two Tales of a City: detecting socio-economic disadvantage in an ‘advantaged’ Australian urban centre

Understanding the distribution of socio-economic status (SES) within and between communities of varying spatial scales is vital for equitable and effective resource delivery and policy development. In Australia, the Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) have been used extensively for these purposes, in both research and government service delivery. As area-based averages, however, their use in these areas is potentially confounded by the ecological fallacy and the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP), statistical issues which have widespread implications for the use of spatial data. The Socio-economic Index for Individuals (SEIFI) is an individual-based index developed by the ABS to quantify SES at an individual level for 15–64 year-old Australians. Previous work investigated the potential disparities between these area- and individual-level indices, showing that considerable disparities exist, particularly in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Using spatial autocorrelation and pair-wise proportion analyses, we show that there was considerable diversity in individual-level SES at a very fine level of geography in 2006, a unique pattern in Australia. We also show that the SES ranking of areas within the ACT is, in many instances, not indicative of the proportions of individuals living within that area experiencing high levels of relative socio-economic disadvantage. We show that between 65–95 per cent of the ACT's disadvantaged population are masked within areas ranked as advantaged, depending on the index and level of spatial aggregation. Our results suggest that the use of SEIFA as a proxy for individual level disadvantage is highly problematic at both a theoretical and practical level, and necessitates further development of an individual- or household-level index as part of the regular suite of socio-economic indices produced by the ABS.     

Isolated and mildly interacting spiral galaxies: Rotation curves and metallicities

We present the study of long slit spectra in the region ofHα emission line of a sample of 111 spiral galaxies with recognizable and well defined spiral morphology and with a well determined environmental status, ranging from isolation to non-disruptive interaction with satellites or companions. The form and properties of the rotation curves (RC) are considered as a function of the isolation degree, morphological type, t, and luminosity. The line ratios are used to estimate the metallicity of all the detected HII regions, thus producing a composite metallicity profile for different types of spirals. We have found that isolated galaxies (ISO) tend to be of later types and lower luminosity than the interacting galaxies (INT). The outer parts of the RC of ISO tend to be flatter than in INT, but they show similar relations between global parameters. The scatter of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation defined by ISO is significantly lower than that of INT. The [NII]/Hα ratios, used as a metallicity indicator, show a clear trend between Z and t, with earlier spirals showing higher ratios; this trend is tighter when instead of t the gradient of the inner RC, G, is used; no trend is found with the change in interaction status. The Z-gradient of the disks depends on the type, being almost flat for early spirals, and increasing for later types. The [NII]/Hα ratios measured for disk HII regions of INT are higher than for normal/ISO objects, even if all the galaxy families present similar distributions of Hα Equivalent Width. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Organic biomarkers in the twilight zone—Time series and settling velocity sediment traps during MedFlux

The transfer of material through the twilight zone of the ocean is controlled by sinking particles that contain organic matter (OM) and mineral ballast. During the MedFlux field program in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea in 2003, sinking particulate matter was collected in time series (TS) and settling velocity (SV) traps and analyzed for amino acids, lipids, and pigments (along with ballast minerals) [Lee, C., Armstrong, R.A., Wakeham, S.G., Peterson, M.L., Miquel, J.C., Cochran, J.K., Fowler, S.W., Hirschberg, D., Beck, A. Xue, J., 2009b. Particulate matter fluxes in time series and settling velocity sediment traps in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Deep-Sea Research II, this volume [doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.12.003]]. The goal was to identify how organic chemical compositions of sinking particles varied as a function of their in-situ settling velocity. The TS record was used to define the biogeochemical character and temporal pattern in flux during the period of SV trap deployment. Temporal variations in organic and mineral compositions are consistent with particle biogeochemistry being driven by the seasonal succession of phytoplankton. Spring diatom bloom conditions led to a high flux of rapidly sinking aggregates and zooplankton fecal matter; summer oligotrophy followed and was characterized by a higher proportion of slowly sinking phytoplankton cells. Bacterial degradation is particularly important during the low-flux summer period. Settling velocity traps show that a large proportion of particulate organic matter sinks at 200–500 m d⁻¹. Organic compositions of this fast-sinking material mirrors that of fecal pellets and aggregated material that sinks as the spring bloom terminates. More-slowly sinking OM bears a stronger signature of bacterial degradation than do the faster-sinking particles. The observation that compositions of SV-sorted fractions are different implies that the particle field is compositionally heterogeneous over a range of settling velocities. Thus physical and biological exchange between fast-sinking and slow-sinking particles as they pass down the water column must be incomplete.     

Closure of a seaway: stratigraphic record and facies (Guadix basin, Southern Spain)

During the late Tortonian (upper Miocene), the Guadix Basin in S Spain formed one of the Betic corridors that connected the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. The closure of this connection occurred in a series of steps, documented by three sedimentary units. A lower unit, consisting of basinal marls, shallow-water calcarenites and sands records the formation of a wide seaway. During deposition of the following unit this narrowed to a strait no more than 2 km in wide, triggering an intensification of currents that caused migration of submarine dunes preserved as giant cross-beds in bioclastic sands and conglomerates. Current flowed from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. The third unit constitutes the youngest marine episode of the filling of the Guadix Basin. At this stage, the connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean was broken, and a system of coastal coral reefs was established in the northern part of the Basin.